美国国家公共电台 NPR--Texas ban on firms that don't invest in firearms and fossil fuels is costing taxpayers

Texas ban on firms that don't invest in firearms and fossil fuels is costing taxpayers¹

Transcript²

Texas laws bar Wall Street firms from operating in the state if they stop investing in firearms and fossil fuels. An analysis shows that has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars this year.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Texas has banned state and local government agencies from doing business with financial firms that they accuse of boycotting⁴ the gun and fossil fuel industries. Some other Republican-led states are following Texas' lead. But experts say the shift is already costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports.

DAVID MARTIN DAVIES, BYLINE⁵: Republican Texas State Representative Phil King introduced his bill a year ago last April, saying it would stop Wall Street firms from discriminating⁶ against the fossil fuel industry.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PHIL KING: Wealthy investment managers are denying capital to energy companies, wielding⁷ their money and power with one simple goal in mind - destroying the oil and gas industry. This bill sends a strong message to both Washington and Wall Street that if you boycott³ Texas Energy, then Texas will boycott you.

DAVIES: King's bill prohibits Texas agencies from investing in companies that choose not to invest in fossil fuel companies because of the financial cost of climate change. Minutes later, the same committee heard a proposal for a similar bill from State Representative Giovanni Capriglione, this one aimed at firms divesting⁸ from the gun industry.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GIOVANNI CAPRIGLIONE: I'm here to speak to you today about House Bill 2558, which prevents firearm lending discrimination by banks. This bill is supported by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the National Rifle Association.

DAVIES: Capriglione argued cutting off capital and banking⁹ services to the gun industry threatens the Second Amendment¹⁰. Both of these bills passed, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed them into law. They're aimed at ESG, or environmental, social and governance, policies. These are policies, companies say, that are good business because they address the risk they face from things like climate change. But Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar called ESGs an opaque¹¹ and perverse¹² system where financial companies use their clout¹³ to push a social and political agenda. Last week, Hegar banned 10 firms from doing business with Texas after he determined¹⁴ they did not support the fossil fuel industry enough.

DANIEL GARRETT: The result is it's costing Texans.

DAVIES: Daniel Garrett of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania studied the impact of Texas' anti-ESG laws on the state's municipal bond borrowing. He says the top five lenders left the Texas municipal bond market because they wouldn't support the manufacturing of AR-15-style weapons, the kind of gun used in the Uvalde school massacre¹⁵.

GARRETT: The banks definitely think they're having an impact. They think these policies are worth leaving Texas over.

DAVIES: Garrett estimates the Texas laws have reduced competition and cost Texas taxpayers an extra 300- to $500 million so far this year in extra interest. Still, those firms are sticking with their ESG policies.

For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio.

(SOUNDBITE OF DICKON HINCHLIFFE'S "PRISON RELEASE")

1 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

4 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

7 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

8 divesting   

v.剥夺( divest的现在分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服

参考例句：

• Methods: The indication, methods and outcome of87 patients undergone laparoscopic ovarian cyst divesting surgery were analyzed. 方法对87例卵巢囊肿进行腹腔镜下剥出手术，严格把握操作要领。 来自互联网
• Conclusion The patients performed laparoscopic ovarian cyst divesting surgery had less complication and recovered soon. 结论腹腔镜下卵巢囊肿剥出术创伤小，术后恢复快并发症少，集诊断与治疗为一体，临床应用价值比较肯定。 来自互联网

9 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

12 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

13 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！